It's no secret why some of the best players in the world have jumped from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. Although some may claim the lighter schedule or team component attracted them to the rival golf league, endless buckets of Saudi cash were the real draw.
Unlike most of his LIV Golf competitors, however, reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm is refreshingly honest about how his jump to the league has affected him.
"For everybody who said this would be easy — some things have been — but not being able to defend some titles that mean a lot to me hasn't," Rahm told reporters Tuesday, per Yahoo Sports. "I love Palm Springs. I've been able to win twice there. Riviera is about as charismatic of a golf course as we have. Not being there was difficult.
"I still watch golf because I love watching it, but it's hard. It was hard not to be at the Phoenix Open at the end of February, and it was hard not to be at Hawaii."
Rahm, LIV Golf's biggest signing to date, accepted a $300M offer to bail on the PGA Tour for the controversial start-up.
It's clear from Rahm's comments that he watched the electric finish at The Players Championship with a little regret. There's a huge difference between fighting for history in front of thousands of fans on an iconic golf course such as TPC Sawgrass on the PGA Tour and playing pitch-and-putt in Jeddah with a few dozen onlookers and a "today's top hits" playlist blasting in your backswing.
LIV Golf can't replicate that feeling, no matter how many of the defectors claim it can.
Is there a better case against a shotgun style championship format than what we just watched at The Players?
— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) March 18, 2024
Leave the LIV vs PGA out of it, just the actual logic here.
In a shotgun, Scottie would have finished on hole 3 today!!
A golf course is designed with a cadence.… pic.twitter.com/OM7mSLFexh
Rahm will be able to feel that electricity when he returns to the majors, but he may never get to play TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale or Riviera Country Club in competition on again. He's bummed about that, but he also accepts the consequences of his actions.
"It's done. It's in the past. It's a decision I made, and I'm comfortable with it," said Rahm. "But I'm hoping I can come back and hopefully I can actually defend [The Masters]. That would be a dream come true.
"I just want to be able to see the best in the world compete against the best in the world, whatever that looks like. I think there's room for all of us."
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